Art History: Test 2

Front 1

The Erechtheion, Acropolis, Athens
Greek Classical

Back 1

The Erechtheion, Acropolis, Athens, 421-405 BCE
-Rebuild of the Archaic Athena temple that the Persians had destroyed.
-multiple shrines: Athena, wooden image of Panthenaic festival goddesses, & several other gods & demigods

Front 2

Erechtheion Plan
Greek Classical

Back 2

Erechtheion Plan
-asymmetrical plan unique, anti-thesis of Doric plan of harmony
- need to incorporate pre-existing features of existing shrines, trident mark, & olive tree into a single complex

Front 3

Carytids
Greek Classical

Back 3

Carytids, from the Ionic Erechtheion
-replaced ionic columns
- supported flat roof
- combined structural, weight-bearing legs with a feminine, natural, flexible form.

Front 4

Temple of Athena Nike
Greek Classical

Back 4

The Temple of Athena Nike, Acropolis, Athens
- designed by Kallikrates
- 4 columns on east & west facades
- includes reference to victory over Persians in name & frieze
-decisive battle of Marathon -- losers shown as humans

Front 5

Hermes & Dionysus
Greek 4th century

Back 5

Hermes & Dionysus, Praxtiles
- displays common human tender interaction
- body forms "s" curve, exaggerated contrapposto
- Gods possess a beauty mortals can actually aspire to, no longer put on a pedestal of absolute perfection
-humanistic

Front 6

Aphrodite of Knidos, Praxtiles
Greek 4th Century

Back 6

Aphrodite of Knidos, Praxtiles
-1st female nude of Greek art
- rejected by commissioner & redone w/ clothes
- reflects the sexism still in Greek society at the time: woman is hiding her body shyly, caught after a bath in a temporary and private state of nudity.

Front 7

Mosaic of the Battle of Issus, 310 BCE
Greek Hellenistic

Back 7

Battle of Issus mosaic, 310 BCE
-depicts Alexander's conquest of the Persian Empire
-original: encaustic paint on wood
- mosaic shows the advancements of highlighting & shadowing, naturalism of Greek painting, spatial recognition
-depicted naturally, not as an allegory

Front 8

Great Altar of Zeus, Pergamon
Greek Hellenistic

Back 8

Great Altar of Zeus, Pergamon
-Ionic order, continuous wrap-around frieze of sculpture of Pergamons & Gauls
-very deep relief

Front 9

Frieze of the Great Altar of Zeus, Pergamon
Greek Hellenistic

Back 9

Frieze of the Great Altar of Zeus, Pergamon
-depicts the allegory of the Pergamons as gods and the Gauls as beastly, inhuman giants.
-giants could not be killed if they kept contact w/ Earth's surface; image shows Athena grabbing them by the hair to lift them off the surface
-images of death, pain, & dying-- Hellenistic

Front 10

Gaul monument, Pergamon
Greek Hellenistic

Back 10

Gaul Monument, Pergamon:
- Gauls are depicted here as perfect & idealized humans- a right previously reserved for the winners only
- shows the respect for Hellenized neighbors, under the Greek empire
-identified as Gauls by long, bushy hair & mustaches, and the torques (necklaces) worn.
-losers are committing suicide

Front 11

Typical Etruscan temple
Etruscan- Archaic

Back 11

Typical Etruscan Temple:
- large front porch (only-- no back porch)
- back of building attached directly to precinct wall, forces a frontal view only
- columns are at front only, steps located in the center of the porch only
- set on a podium- elevates temple
- 3 separate cellas for 3 separate gods
-"Tuscan Doric Order"--- abacus & echinus, but smooth columns instead of fluted. No base & narrower-- wood instead of stone, lighter material.
- roof extends past temple platform to rid roof of rain
-sculpture located on roof's ridge

Front 12

Apollo of Veii
Etruscan- Archaic

Back 12

The Apollo of Veii:
-archaic smile, rigid hair
-clothed in Etruscan art (not nude as in Greek)
-terra cotta clay
- legs spaced widely apart, as if walking

Front 13

Sarcophagus at Ceveteri
Etruscan- Archaic

Back 13

Sarcophagus at Cerveteri:
- archaic smile, almond eyes, rigid hair
- etruscan aspect: men and women together
- terra cotta clay pot, immortalized couple

Front 14

Tomb of the Reliefs, Cerveteri
Etruscan Hellenistic

Back 14

Tomb of the Reliefs, Cerveteri:
- mimics typical Etruscan mud-brick home, with "couches" and other seating arrangements, on which cremated remains in pots would sit.
- originally pots were plain but gradually transformed over the years to reflect the bodies held inside.

Front 15

Aule Metele
Etruscan Hellenistic

Back 15

Aule Metele:
- "The Orator" -- hand held up indicates he is speaking
- expert bronze statue
- Roman magistrate- signifies Rome's artistic influence at the time & the transition that was taking place

Front 16

Temple of Portunus, Rome
Roman Republican 509-27 BCE

Back 16

Temple of Portunus, Rome:
- dedicated to the Roman god of harbors
- high podium, steps only at front-- Etruscan plan + made of stone-- Greek influence = Roman
- stucco imitates Greek marble, ionic columns, pseudoperipteral

Front 17

Portrait of an old man
Roman Republic

Back 17

Portrait of an Old Man:
- aristocratic patrician, portrayed in the veristic (super realistic) style
-brutally distinct features
- serious, determined, loyal

Front 18

Atrium of the house of the Vetti, Pompeii:
Roman Republic

Back 18

Atrium of the House of the Vetti, Pompeii:
- Roman domestic architecture, typical townhouse
- impluvium: collects rainwater
- peristyle garden behind

Front 19

1st style painting from Samnite House, Herculaneum
Roman Republican

Back 19

First-Style Painting from the House of the Samnite, Herculaneum:
- aim to decorate by imitating costly marble panels using stucco relief
-Greek origin, passed to Herculaneum by the Hellenization of the Greek states

Front 20

2nd style painting from Bosoreale:
Roman Republican

Back 20

2nd style painting from Boscoreale:
- painted on flat surface, rather than sculpted plaster
- true-to-life architectural elements
-columns support tablature
-view beyond columns- seascapes, landscapes, cityscapes, etc.
- no real windows b/c of surrounding structures
- highlighting, shadowing, spatial & angular methods to provide true perspectives

Front 21

3rd style painting at Boscotrease:
Roman Imperial 27 BCE- 312 AD

Back 21

3rd style painting @ Boscotrease:
- incorporates 1st & 2nd style characteristics
-exaggerated architecture, columns stretched too thin, not in proper orders
- spaces between columns are blank negative space, sometimes with a small image in the center: chunk of landscape or a bird, etc.

Front 22

4th style paintings at the Ixion Room, Vetti House
Roman Imperial: 27 BCE- 312 AD

Back 22

4th style paintings @ the Ixion Room, Vetti House:
- invented in Nero's reign, spread to Vetti
- Dada @ bottom imitates stone, plants form columns & divide the wall into sheets of solid color with floating images in the middle.
-windows seem to be punched through to the outside

Front 23

The Augustus of Prima Porta
Roman Imperial

Back 23

The Augustus of Prima Porta:
- depicts Augustus, 1st Roman emperor of the imperial period
- considered to be one of the most accurate copies of the classical Doryphoros -- indicates that he is godly

Front 24

The Domus Aurea
Roman Imperial

Back 24

The Domus Aurea, Rome:
- commissioned by Nero
- top portion= vaulted octagon, set on a circular room
- inside the imperial palace: jumble of strange angles
- cast concrete: uniquely Roman
-room rotates, oculus allows light tocome in from ceiling
-decorated by frescoes in the 4th style.

Front 25

The Colosseum, Rome
Roman Imperial

Back 25

The Colosseum, Rome:
-feat of practical engineering
-concrete structure, consists of groin vaults (intersecting barrel vaults)
- rooms underneath used for storing props & special effects equipment
- covered w/ retractable canvas roof
- Greek order applied @ practical Roman core.

Front 26

Portrait of Vespasian
Roman Imperial

Back 26

Portrait of Vespasian:
- Roman general
- revived the veristic tradition of the Republican era-- great contrast w/ Nero's self-indulgence and extravagance

Front 27

Forum of Trajan
Roman Imperial

Back 27

Forum of Trajan:
- last & largest forum of Imperial period
- Trajan: great emperor, general over Barbarian tribes, donated wealth to building public monuments

Front 28

The Column of Trajan
Roman Imperial

Back 28

The Column of Trajan
-supports portrait statue of Trajan
- Tuscan Doric column with base, except that the smooth part has been replaced with a band of decoration, depicting hundreds of figures playing out Trajan's battles with Barbarians.

Front 29

The Pantheon
Roman Imperial

Back 29

The Pantheon:
-Roman-style "temple"
- instead of a cult statue, the assumed "cella" is instead a domed room, large enough to hold many people
- ceiling acts as celestial sky & lower part acts as Earth (Domus Aurea inspired)
- functioned as public audience hall & as the Domus Aurea did.

Front 30

The Equestrian Statue of Marcus Aurelius:
Roman Imperial

Back 30

The Equestrian Statue of Marcus Aurelius:
- arm stretched out, act of clemency
- horse's leg once stood on cowering enemy
-superhuman stature- much larger proportionally than a man would be to a horse.

Front 31

Christian House, Dura Europos
Roman Imperial 27 BCE -312 AD

Back 31

Christian House @ Dura Europos:
- 1st evidence of Christians
- located in the city of the Roman empire, modern-day Syria
-fortification wall surrounds city, with most important buildings and temples @ forum; this house was on the outskirts & near the fortification wall: got buried in an attempt to strengthen it from invaders.
-secret cult building, not official temple
-mall and modest, most Christians were poor & lower class
-modifications done mostly in the initiation ceremony room, with a bathtub for baptism

Front 32

Catacombs of Peter & Marcellinus, rome
Roman Imperial

Back 32

Catacombs of Peter & Marcellinus, Rome
-upper vault area: 3rd style painting- big sheet of white, compartmentalized & decorated with images
-- Jonah & the whale: Jew thrown overboard, swallowed whole by a whale & 3 days later is vomitted out; symbolic of the death & resurrection of Christ

Front 33

The Arch of Constantine, Rome 312-315
Early Christian

Back 33

Arch of Constantine, Rome
- PAGAN not christian (Constantine personally converted in 312, not nationally)
- triple arch w/ tons of sculpture & relief
- imperial portrait pictured becomes formula for representation

Front 34

Detail of the Arch of Constantine

Back 34

Arch of Constantine, Rome
-imperial portrait
- emperor sits in the center, as others stand
- face fell off-- would have been made of a precious stone or metal

Front 35

The Aula Palatina, Trier, Early 4th C.
Early Christian

Back 35

Aula Palatina, Trier, 4th c.
- rectangular hall w/ coffered ceilings, apse, and raised platform for emperor's throne
- became standard layout of imperial audience hall basilica

Front 36

Sarcophagus of Junius Bassus, c. 359
Early Christian

Back 36

Sarcophagus of Junius Bassus, c. 359
- old patrician family of Pagan era
- covered w/ various old Jewish stories & new Christian ones
- portrait of Christ--- modeled after imperial portrait

Front 37

Old St. Peter's, Rome, begun c. 319
Early Christian

Back 37

Old St. Peter's, Rome, 319
- 2nd most important building in Christian world (1st: Christ's tomb)
- killed as blood-sport entertainment
- tomb developed into lavish structure, basilica
- 5 aisles, clerestory windows, exposed rafters, trasected "T" shape basilica fuses tomb w/ audience hall

Front 38

Santa Costanza, Rome, begun 337
Roman Early Christian

Back 38

Santa Costanza, Rome, 337
- centrally-planned building
-ambulatory: ringlike barrel vaulted corridor, separated by 12 pairs of columns
-brick exterior

Front 39

Leaf from the Nicomachi/ Symmachi diptych
Roman Early Christian

Back 39

Leaf from the Nicomachi/ Symmachi diptych
- 2 panels: possible wedding announcement
- depicts 2 pagan priestesses/ gods in the Greek classical style
- attempts to justify the now-illegal religion of Paganism through emotional persuasion; "good ole days" & tradition

Front 40

Hagia Sophia, Constantinople, mid 4th c. (original); rebuilt around 532
Early Byzantine: 527-726 AD

Back 40

Hagia Sophia, Constantinople
- originally built by Constantine in the mid 4th century as 5-aisle basilica church, but destroyed during a riot in Justinian's rule
- rebuilt around 532 AD as centrally-planned building, stretched octagon w/ two thrones (bishop & emperor)
-vertical axis btw. high central dome & floor instead of traditional horizontal axis
- embedded within palace architecture; dual function as city's cathedral & emperor's cathedral
-decorative nonfunctioning walls hide supporting buttresses

Front 41

Interior of Hagia Sophia, 532

Back 41

- divided heaven & earth inside; pendentives (triangular spherical segments) make up top half
with holy images in golden mosaics, lights that let natural light in
- bottom half represents earth, darker colors and mosaics portray mountains, meadows, streams, etc.
-Natural light acts as stars & planets

Front 42

San Vitale, Ravenna

Back 42

San Vitale, Ravenna
-true centrally-planned building: dome within an octagon, within an octagon
-true "Byzantine" church
-basket capitals: lacelike exterior hides hollow inside

Front 43

Justinian Mosaic, San Vitale, Ravenna
Early Byzantine

Back 43

-panel depicted inside church
-mosaic
-depict Justinian & wife Theodora in "icon" fashion
-icons used emperor & God interchangably

Front 44

functions of an icon portrait

Back 44

1) intercessory: acts as a intermediary between humans and Gods-- have to pass prayers through lower level saints, all the way up the hierarchy to Christ.
2) Anagogy: turns attention away from material world, and into a higher realm.

Front 45

Icon of the Virgin, Saints, & Angels
San Vitale, Ravenna
Early Byzantine

Back 45

Icon of the Virgin, Saints, & Angels
- baby Jesus is only an attribute to Mary, the central figure, so this is a Virgin Icon
- accompanied by lower level saints, higher saints, angels, and the hand of God, which is speaking down to Earth. Shows the lineage prayers must follow.